Survivor 271
by Wise-ass-master
Summary: Set six years into the future in a post-apocalyptic Sunnydale, Kennedy is the sole survivor of the Scooby Gang, now she has to set things right.
1. pt1

Author: WiseAssMaster Disclaimer: I own nothing. All belongs to Joss Whedon. All hail Joss. Summary: set six years into the future, Kennedy is the sole survivor of the Scooby Gang. Now it is up to her to set things right. Spoilers: 7x10 - 7x13  
"Survivor 271"  
  
"How much time is left?" The girl asked as she sifted through the blueprints while she sat on the cold, damp floor of the warehouse.  
  
Kennedy didn't have to consult her watch to know time wasn't on their side, "twenty-two hours." She slowly paced across the room, rubbing her eyes with her sweaty palms. Her eyes burned and her body ached, mostly from fatigue, but Kennedy knew she couldn't sleep. Not now.  
  
The young blond lifted her skeptical eyes to see her weary friend settle herself on the window seal, hesitating only a moment before responding, "Kennedy," she began, "52 hours? Are you really going to be able to --"  
  
"I know, Mikah," Kennedy interrupted, staring out the window only to find a sun had set, darkening the plains that surrounded the warehouse, "time's short," she continued, "but we still have to try to make things right... To bring them back."  
  
Mikah fell silent and dropped her eyes back down to the blueprints. She knew Kennedy was right and she never questioned her, especially when he came to this. As far as she was concerned, anything was better than the post-apocalyptic hell they resided in. Even if they only had an hour, it was still a chance worth taking, and if Kennedy's plan worked, then they'd be allowed to correct their mistake and make the world what used to be, "if," Mikah emphasized, "we can get you into Thiross tonight.than we MIGHT be able to get the last pact in our 22 hour deadline," she finished before picking up one specific blueprint and holding it tight in her grasp.  
  
Kennedy bit her lower lip and continued his stare out the window, no trees, only scorched, blackened stumps in their place. No grass, instead, either dirt or weeds in its place. This is the world she's come to know, and hated. She crossed her arms, feeling more determined that ever, "load me up, Q."  
  
Mikah stood and approached Kennedy with a look of confusion. Kennedy immediately try to elaborate as she lifted herself off the window seal, "James Bond? You know, Q?"  
  
Mikah stared at her with a blank expression.  
  
"You really need to watch more movies," Kennedy commented with a frown her face.  
  
Mikah nodded slowly, "and watch them on what? Our water pale?" She added sarcastically.  
  
"We really should trade something in for TV, huh?" Kennedy observed.  
  
Mikah sighed melodramatically, "I tried trading you to Bianca for one, but she wanted me to throw in the table. And let me tell you: NO TV's worth our only table."  
  
Kennedy playfully rolled her eyes, "you're so hilarious. Remind me why I keep you around again?"  
  
"Because I'm potty - trained," Mikah replied matter-of-factly.  
  
Kennedy smiled, he quickly grew solemn and she began, "about Thiross, I'm going to need weapons, lots and lots."  
  
Mikah nodded as she reached into her pocket and revealed a small, dime sized, wire inlet, she extended her arm to offer it to Kennedy, "communications, m'lady."  
  
Kitty lower her brows as she studied the device for a moment before deciding it was OK to pick up, "just out of mild curiosity, where'd you get the technology for this?" Kennedy asked as she used both hands to stabilize the inlet into her right ear.  
  
Mikah turned away to cross the room to a small wooden chest that sat next to their sleeping bags against the wall, "what the so-called government doesn't know won't hurt them." Inside the chest, she picked up a ratty crossbow that was tied to a velvet and bag full of arrows and a small switch blade and place them into her arms. As Mikah once again approached Kennedy, she handed the weapons to her, one by one, "now here, and need I remind you, were running low on arrows, use them conservatively. Don't go shooting every vampire, demon or man you see."  
  
Kennedy frowned as she lowered to one knee to tuck the switch blade into her sock, then pulled her sock up as far is it would go to ensure it wouldn't fall out, "I thought Bianca was supposed to get more in yesterday."  
  
Mikah lifted in eyebrow as she settled herself back onto the floor, then began unrolling the blueprints she singled out earlier, "Bianca? Please, between her and her black-market business, she doesn't know WHAT's supposed to be coming in," she shrugged casually as she continued, "besides, I had to trade asked for the new food shipment, so didn't have anything left to barter for arrows."  
  
Kennedy is eyes grew wide in disbelief, "you gave Bianca the ax?!"  
  
"Earth to Kennedy backspace!" Mikah began, raising her voice, "please try to remember that we DO have to eat. Us pesky humans have to do that once in a while."  
  
Kennedy dropped her eyes and shook her head apologetically, "I'm sorry," she sighed, "it's just. these pact've got me into a rut." She slumped into a metal chair that sat higher than the piece of wood that laid on an overturned pale, the one they use for a table, "just... Just thinking."  
  
"That we might actually pull this off?" Mikah pushed, never lifting her eyes from the ground, "that we might actually be able to bring them back?"  
  
Kennedy was unresponsive, instead of she stared at the puddle a few feet in front of her as it danced every time the hole in the roof allowed drops rain to pass through it. Becoming suddenly overwhelmed, Kennedy leaned forward to rest her head in her hands, and also not to allow Mikah to see the expression on her face. She had to appear strong like she always had, it was the only way to keep her sane when she woke in the morning. But inside, Kennedy couldn't help but wonder if they COULD pull it off, if they really could change the world. After all, they were only two girls.  
  
One, being herself, was now 25 years of age, and sustained many battle scars over the past six years. Perhaps the most memorable, was the one that nearly covered her left eye she obtained the same night that she became the solo survivor of the Scooby Gang.  
  
The second being a 16-year-old brainiac whose parents were killed when she was 10. Kennedy did feel sorry for her, after all she had limited memories of what the world was like before the Great War. But still, Mikah remained optimistic on the pending situation, and living under Kennedy's wing for six years.  
  
Mikah noticed a spacey look on Kennedy's face, the lowered her voice to whisper, "hey," she paused momentarily, "you all right?"  
  
Kennedy slightly jumped, caught off guard, but quickly snapped herself back into reality. Perking herself up to the best of her ability, she replied, "yeah, just... Just going through the plan in my head," she lied, not wanting to let Mikah in on her thoughts.  
  
Mikah raised skeptical eyebrow, "Uh-huh," she clicked her tongue, gave a heavy sigh and continued, "Kennedy, I know when you lie, you're not very good at it. So, listen, if you're worried about the Thiross breach, you're going to be OK, trust me. After all, you ARE the slayer."  
  
Kennedy scoffed at Mikah's reply, the dropped her eyes to the floor, "some slayer I am. The world went to hell, almost literally, and there wasn't a thing I could do about it, except sit back and watch."  
  
Mikah sighed deeply, she knew there wasn't much she could say to make her feel better, but she knew she still had to try, "Kennedy, the First killed the Antibody, it wasn't your fault, and you know tha-"  
  
"Do -- don't call them that, Mikah," Kennedy firmly commanded, then realized her own harsh tone, breathing in slowly, she continued, "I mean, yeah, NOW the couple thousand or so humans left in the world know them by that. But they didn't know them... no, not like I did," she caused, letting blissful memories overwhelm her, "I KNEW them better then any of my friends, even my family," Kennedy quickly corrected herself, "because they WERE my family. They treated me like I, like I belonged, and they were the closest I've ever come-" she stopped short, not wanting to surrender to her emotions, "and now they're gone... even Willow," and there was no fighting to swell of tears that began forming in Kennedy eyes. Trying to her best not to wipe them away, knowing it would be a dead giveaway to Mikah, Kennedy just looked up at the rotting and termite infested ceiling hoping her tears would dry.  
  
Mikah looked hard at Kennedy's face one, noticing every ounce of pain that took form of her tears, she couldn't imagine what it would feel like to be alone. Yes, her parents were brutally murdered, so she did know what it felt like to have her loved ones stripped from her, but she never felt like she was alone. Mikah always had Kennedy to look out for her and protect her, sure, it wasn't the same thing as having a mother or father to scare away the bogeyman under the bed, but as far as she was concerned, it was pretty damn close. Kennedy became more of a sibling figure rather than a mother or even a best friend... And now she was hurting.  
  
Mikah try to talk, to say anything to comfort Kennedy, but found herself speechless. She, herself might not have known the Antibody personally, but Mikah remembered years ago, Kennedy used to settle her into bed tight and secure, then tell her bedtime stories of off Buffy: the Slayer, and her friends bravely putting themselves in a line of fire in the name of good. She told her as long as they were around, there was nothing to fear because Buffy would always show up in the nick of time. Mikah knew most of the stories were fabricated, like the one about Buffy saving a rain forest by a tree-eating cult, but they made her feel like there's always hope.  
  
Mikah knew that one, Willow, meant the world and so much more to Kennedy, she even believed they might have even been in love once. The things she must have gone through... It was unimaginable, but Mikah never knew exactly how they were killed.  
  
Kennedy never spoke of the day the Scooby Gang, as she fondly called them, was extinguished, but Mikah knew it was the same day the human race became scarce.  
  
If all went well, if every detail went according to Kennedy's plan, then they'd be able to bring the Legends back and set things right. 


	2. pt2

May 12th 2003  
  
Mikah ran as fast as she could in spite of the burning in her legs that told her to stop, but she knew she couldn't, the monsters were after her. Every instinct screaming inside of her told her to seek shelter from her mum and be cradled in the safety of her arms, but she couldn't do that either, the monsters make sure of that.  
  
"Mikah, baby, you need to run, OK? You need to run far, far away and don't you dare look back, ever. Mum and dad love you baby."  
  
Her mother's quivering voice still rang in Mikah's ears as the touch of her mothers hand on her cheeks still lingered. She remembers her father screaming downstairs as her mother rushed her to the window.  
  
Even though these occurrences happened no more than an hour ago right before Mikah's own eyes, she still couldn't conceive all that has happened. She didn't know exactly how far she'd gone, but now Mikah couldn't recognize any of the buildings. Everything was unfamiliar, like it was a completely different town; the sunset hadn't made the situation any better. The darkness just made Mikah's heart beat faster and Dave Culver to any hidden monsters waiting to attack. She started to slow down to assess her location, and to give her lungs a moment to rest. The back of her throat burned and yearned for water, but there was no time to seek out the water fountain, so Mikah swallowed as hard she could to sooth the burning.  
  
The road she had been following disappeared into a field just a few yards in front of her, would she dare venture out into the grassy plain where it would be harder to maintain a safe speed? Hiding wasn't an option either; all the surrounding buildings looked deserted, with broken windows and doors hanging by their last hinges. If she were to be cornered in one of them, there'd be nowhere to run.  
  
Assessing her last option, Mikah turned to face a direction she'd come, tears running down both sides of her cheeks. The road was empty; the only audible noises were the wind pushing debris across the way and her heart pounding in her chest. She felt as if she were completely alone, but what she really?  
  
A man, or what appeared to be a man, revealed himself from the shadow of the building that covered a segment of the road. His face was hideously disfigured, blood dripped from his abnormal teeth.  
  
Mikah didn't need for it to be spelled out for her; she knew it was the blood of her parents of whom he feasted on.  
  
The neared closer, taunting a terrified Mikah with his slow steps and low toned growling of hunger.  
  
This couldn't be happening, the thing standing before her wasn't supposed to be real. It was only supposed to be real in the corny b-movies where the blonde always breaks her heel and falls, the same thing her mum assured her member in existed, backspace. Only it did.  
  
Mikah couldn't run any longer, her legs felt as if they might give way and any moment, but it would be all over soon. Her whimpering cries only excited the vampire even more, as he stepped within arms length from Mikah, she close her eyes, not wanting to stare death in the face. She could hear his heavy breathing and smell his putrid breath, but before Mikah felt any pain, she heard a very loud THUD followed by several grunts. When she opened her eyes, the monster was no longer standing in front of her, but on the ground wrestling with the girl.  
  
She seemed to be holding well on her own, even dazing the vampire which she kicked him in the jaw. Mikah watched as the newcomer twisted the vamps arm behind him and threw him into the ground with a sickening CRACK. Within a blink of an eye, she settled her weight on top of him then she pulled a wooded stake from inside her denim jacket. But before she had a chance to firmly gripped it, the vampire threw were off with one solid punch to her chest that sent her flying. The girls hit the road, stomach up and feeling like she had the wind knocked out of her. He leapt at her with a deadly snarl, and then pulled her off the ground by her hair. She fruitlessly clawed at his hand, and then he twisted her around and gripped his arm around her chest, pulling her head back and leaving her neck exposed.  
  
As she struggled he leaned in closer, curling his lip to reveal his fangs. Just as she felt that tips of his teeth make contact with her skin, she threw her fist upwards, making a sickening CRACK in his jaw as he stumbled backwards, releasing his grip on her. The girl didn't give him a chance to regain his composure; instead she approached him with a stake in hand and a cold expression on her face.  
  
Mikah heard her whisper, "bastard" in an angry, spiteful voice just loud enough for her to hear before the girl plunged the stake into his chest. His eyes widened in realization and in pain as he looked into the eyes of his foe, who did not wear a smile in spite of her victory. Only seconds passed, but it seemed like an eternity to Mikah before the monster exploded into dust, then was immediately carried away by the wind.  
  
The mysterious girl stood perfectly still for several more seconds, staring at the spot where the vampire once stood, obviously lost in thought. Mikah watched in awe but also in fear, she had just witnessed something that was inconceivable to the human mind. She couldn't make sense out of any of it, but then again, was there sense to be made? Vampires were real. There was no possible logic to it, their existence defied every man-made law in and it also made Mikah wonder what other bump-in-the-night creatures might be real.  
  
Finally, the girls slowly turned her head to look at Mikah, now she could clearly see that she had blood dripping from her left eye, covering her cheek, a wound Mikah knew was made prior to this attack.  
  
She slowly turned her body and started walking towards the frightened girl, Mikah instinctively backed away as she approached.  
  
"It's OK, are not going to hurt you," she informed with a slight quivering her voice, "I'm Kennedy."  
  
Mikah momentarily looked up to peer into Kennedy eyes, in them, she saw pain. For a second, Mikah knew she was safe and trustworthy because of the pain, because she felt the same way Mikah did. So it was true that monsters existed, but for every evil there had to be a good to balance the scale of life. So what is it possible Mikah was staring into the eyes of one of the 'good guys' themselves? It had to be, this Kennedy character saved her life, and she was a hero.  
  
When Mikah realized Kennedy was staring back at her expectantly, she quickly lowered her eyes to the ground, avoiding further eye contact, "I wanna go home."  
  
Kennedy closed her eyes momentarily, letting the realization of the past night's occurrences overwhelm her, "Where are your parents?"  
  
Mikah remained silent, not wanting to reveal unneeded information to the stranger and holding back more tears as not to collapse in an emotional fit.  
  
The girl's silence was all Kennedy needed to come to her own conclusion, her parents were dead. Her family had been slain, too. It was unimaginable that this little girl had to endure what Kennedy was, she looked to be no older than ten and she already had all the ones that loved her torn to pieces.  
  
In her best effort to appear strong, Kennedy tightened her lips and descended to her knees in front of Mikah in a friendly gesture. She knew she couldn't afford to breakdown now, a little girl depended on her strength. Kennedy used her fingers to push stray strands of hair from in front of the girl's face to behind her ear to get a clear look at her frightened eyes.  
  
"What's your name?" Kennedy asked as her voice slightly cracked.  
  
Mikah stared at the ground, then wiped her eyes with her palm, "Mikah," she swallowed hard to lower the lump in her throat, "Cardalini."  
  
Kennedy nodded reassuringly, imagining what Mikah had gone through and what might've happened if she hadn't gotten there in time, "You can't go home, sweetie. Neither of us can." 


	3. pt3

Present Day Sunnydale  
  
Kennedy quietly lowered herself to her stomach to camouflage herself in the tall grass just outside of the building's entrance. Hours had passed since she left the safety of the warehouse, and she knew the longer she hesitated the less time they had. Night watchmen surrounded the Thiross Compound, Kennedy counted twelve in all, which was a lot considering how many humans were left in the world.  
  
Maybe two-thousand human beings still existed, or at least that's all that were registered with assigned Survivor Numbers. Kennedy couldn't be sure how many others were free of their numbers because they had not been discovered by the government, but she envied them. No one but the government themselves knew how the Survivor system worked but her and Mikah had been tattooed at the same time and ended up with very different numbers: Mikah was S798 and Kennedy was assigned S271. Not only had they been treated like cattle instead of people, but they had bold, black tattoos with their numbers on their right palms to remind them.  
  
It was all an elaborate tracking system designed by the Odessa, the new and "reformed" government. Only the Odessa weren't the ones people looked to for leadership, instead they were the source of fear, considering they worked side by side with the vampires and demons that dominated the world. They would provide them with artificial goods and goods in exchange for not being killed. On the demons side, they were getting free food without exhausting their last food source: humans. They also ran Thiross, a military compound lined with satellites for communicating with their few other bases. But Kennedy knew they had something else, something of great importance to her.  
  
She stayed as still as humanly possible until the spotlight passed her, "Mikah?"  
  
Within a few seconds, she heard Mikah's voice reply from the earpiece, "Yeah, I'm here."  
  
"I'm in place, how many are we thinking?"  
  
"Well, according to charts and blueprints," Mikah informed, "there should be about fifteen patrolling, another thirty in infantry and probably ten in intelligence/surveillance."  
  
"Whoa," Kennedy began, "I didn't know there was supposed to be surveillance at Thiross, how the hell am I supposed to get by that?"  
  
"Be invisible," Mikah simply concluded. 


	4. pt4

"Whatever it is, it better be important. It's 11 p.m. for Christ's sake," the balding rounded man queried. The name tag on his freshly ironed uniform read, "Vaughn-Schmidt"  
  
"Sir," a nerdy, smaller man beside Vaughn-Schmidt started, "it's very important, sir."  
  
Vaughn-Schmidt waited expectantly, when the man didn't continue, he boomed, "Well, what the hell is it Whitson?"  
  
The geeky man jumped at the sound of the stern voice, "I-I'm sorry, sir. Um, we seem to have a breach in Sector Twelve."  
  
"A breach? What species?"  
  
"Uh, human, sir," Whitman cautiously replied.  
  
"How did a human get by security?" Vaughn-Schmidt asked rhetorically, then focused on Whitman, "have we identified him?"  
  
Whitman sifted through some files on the table until he found one envelope filled with pictures of a dark haired girl approaching the Thiross base, "Actually, it's HER."  
  
Vaughn-Schmidt studied the pictures with a cold expression, even running his finger over the intruders face in the picture.  
  
"S271," Whitman informed.  
  
He nodded his head slowly as he tossed the picture to the middle of the table, then settled his head into his hand, "Do we have back round?"  
  
"Yes, sir. Survivor 271 was an original part of the Antibody, the only to survive. She's the Slayer and to date, we don't have a resident location..."  
  
Vaughn-Schmidt vigorously shook his head, "Impossible. The Antibody were extinguished years ago along with the Slayer lineage."  
  
Whitman swallowed hard, realizing he was about to correct one of the most powerful men of the Odessa, "Apparently not, sir," he cleared his throat, "She took out all twelve patrolmen and scaled all three of our security walls.sir."  
  
Vaughn-Schmidt sat perfectly still but grinded his teeth in anger. Not once, not one single time had they been challenged by a human in their six year history. Not his compound. Everything had an order, and a Slayer was not apart of it.  
  
"Where's she headed?"  
  
"Somewhere near the control center, sir," Whitman replied.  
  
"Do we know what she wants?" Vaughn-Schmidt asked coolly.  
  
"I have no idea." 


	5. pt5

Kennedy pressed herself against the wall making herself as invisible as possible. It didn't help to tip-toe around with kid gloves any longer, she knew they knew she was there. The only question up for debate was; should she take the time to pick off the infantry one by one, or just head straight for the control room?  
  
But to her, the answer was already clear: it wouldn't be long before they got backup wannabe soldiers transferred from other compounds, and there was no way Kennedy was going to waste her valuable time.  
  
Kennedy peered around the corner just in time to see one soldier turn the corner in the far end of the hallway, obviously assuming the coast was clear. She trotted out into the corridor, staying as close to the inner wall as she could.  
  
"Alright, I'm here, now where do I go?" Kennedy felt several seconds pass before Mikah replied, obviously consulting her blueprints and whatnot.  
  
"Okay.um, head straight. You're gonna want to take the fourth left at Sector Five."  
  
Just as Kennedy nodded and was about to sprint off, she heard a male voice yell behind her, "Over here!"  
  
Kennedy swung her body to face half a dozen men now running toward her, "damnit," she whispered to herself and began sprinting down the hallway, "I got six or seven. Gonna need the rest of those directions in advance."  
  
"Uh.give me a minute," Mikah replied.  
  
But as Kennedy saw 'Sector Five' stenciled on the wall of a corner slowly nearing closer, she had no choice but to pressure Mikah more.  
  
"Mikah," Kennedy began in a semi-whiny tone, "Need those directions, like now!"  
  
Kennedy turned left at the corner, with the soldiers trailing only a few yards behind her. She was now running on blind faith, not knowing where to go from there. The soldiers were slowly closing in. she saw several signs pass, each labeling a door.  
  
"Okay, okay, I got it!" Mikah shouted, the sudden burst scared Kennedy, but now wasn't the time to get distracted, "You need to find room 523, it should be on your right."  
  
Kennedy slowed herself to a jogging pace so that she could clearly read the door numbers, "533.535.537, aw damnit!" She came to a complete stop the second she realized she passed the room she needed to be in. When she turned around to head back, she was greeted by the six men who had also stopped, but only to raise the nozzle of their guns at her. They each stood firm, only taking slow steps toward Kennedy, entrapping her.  
  
Get the pact first, THEN you can kick all the government bum you like, she thought to herself.  
  
Kennedy's eyes searched within her immediate reach, she found nothing to could use to distract them.  
  
"Get on the floor! Now!" one of the men commanded as he tightened his grip on his Uzi.  
  
No time to pull out the crossbow or knife, even if she could, she'd only be able to take out two at the most, and it didn't' take long to pull a trigger. It was suicide.  
  
"I said get on the floor!" he repeated, raising his voice.  
  
Maybe one was all it took.  
  
Kennedy raised her hands in the air to show that she was unarmed.  
  
"On.the.floor," he worded as if she didn't understand.  
  
Kennedy slowly lowered herself to her knees, careful not to make any sudden movements as to set her offenders off. The lower she got, the closer they got. As she used her hands to descend herself to her stomach, one man approached her with his gun still pointed firm. He used one hand to secure her arms behind her back, then let go of his gun to use the other to grab a pair of handcuffs from his belt.  
  
The chance Kennedy had been waiting for. She rolled onto her back and swung her leg up until it made contact with the man's head. Before his comrades could get a clear shot, she had pulled the switch blade from her sock and dragged the man to his feet to hold the knife to his neck  
  
"Any of you so much as blink, I swear I'll gut him like a fish," Kennedy threatened.  
  
"No, you won't," the leader calmly stated.  
  
Kennedy raised her eyebrows, "Oh, I won't? Then why don't you try me?"  
  
The leader raised his gun to take aim, then pulled the trigger. The hallways echoed with the thunderclap of the gunfire, the hostage's head jerked back from the bullet that struck him in the forehead.  
  
His limp body fell to the ground and left Kennedy exposed once again.  
  
Still in awe, and the knife in hand, she finished, "I guess I won't."  
  
Just as the remaining soldiers repositioned their guns, Kennedy turned the opposite way and bolted.  
  
Ratta-tatta-tat-tat  
  
As she ran, she could see sparks dancing on the ground where the stray bullets struck just inches from herself.  
  
"Kennedy, are you there?!" she heard through the earpiece.  
  
"Not a real good time Mikah," Kennedy replied distractively. She kept her eyes focused forward, not daring herself to look back, that's when she felt it.  
  
The back of her left shoulder felt as if it were on fire, then the numbness came. Kennedy momentarily lost her balance, but it was all she needed, she uncontrollably swung to her right until the wall stopped her. She could see now that her pursuers were a satisfying distance behind her, but it wouldn't be long until they caught up. Kennedy ran her right hand along her upper chest near her left shoulder, her fingers felt something warm.  
  
"It went through," she whispered to herself.  
  
"What went through? Kennedy, talk to me!" Mikah urged.  
  
Kennedy remained silent, it was better Mikah was oblivious to her gunshot wound, who knows what she might do if she found out Kennedy had been shot.  
  
Kennedy, still leaning on the wall, began to make her way down the hallways keeping her hand over her shoulder. After only a few yards, she had reached the three-foot wide inlet that lead to door 553. Now Kennedy could hear the rhythm tic footsteps of the soldiers nearing closer. She quickly grabbed the doorknob, only praying it wasn't locked, because she knew she wouldn't have time to knock the door down before they reached her. Kennedy took a deep break before trying to turn the knob.  
  
Click  
  
She exhaled in relief as the door opened, Kennedy lunged in, almost falling forward, then slammed the door behind her. As she used all her weight to lean against the door, she looked around for anything heavy enough to barricade it with. Her eyes settled on a large desk in the corner to her right. Ignoring the pain, she firmly planted her feet and began to push the desk to in front of the door. Just as it was in place she heard a loud THUD of someone banging on the door, and her guess it was five angry men with guns.  
  
That should hold them for now, she thought.  
  
"Mikah, are you there?" Kennedy queried.  
  
"I'm here, what's going on? Are you okay? What happened?"  
  
"I'm alright. But I need a new plan, I'm in room five-fifty-three, can't go out the front door and there's not other windows or doors," she described.  
  
Mikah sighed in frustration, "You could always knock the walls down."  
  
Kennedy didn't dignify that with a reply, instead her eyes searched the room, looking for any possible weapon or even a way out. She froze when she saw a small vent that was placed on the ceiling, "Mikah, how much time's left?"  
  
After a short pause, she replied, "Just under thirteen hours."  
  
Time was extremely short, within a blind of an eye their twenty-two hours had been cut to just under thirteen. She had to move, now.  
  
Kennedy rolled the chair that once sat in front of the desk to directly under the cent. Then carefully began to stand on it, knowing if she placed her balance wrong, it would roll out from beneath her. Once Kennedy was satisfied she was stable enough, she stood fully erect and extended her arms as far as they would go. Her shoulder throbbed and flooded with pain, but still she pressed on. Kennedy's fingertips just barely touched the end of the vent, but it was enough for her to force the cover off revealing a dark hole above her filled with pipes ad dust. Her reach was not good enough to get a firm grip and pull herself up, so once again she stabilized herself, took a deep breath and jumped up.  
  
Her hands were now grasping the edge of the vent as she heard the chair she once stood on fall. As she hung from the ceiling, she used her strength to pull herself up until she had completely existed room 553 and was now in the air duct above it.  
  
Just as she did, she heard the door crash in, followed by several voices:  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
"Backup on the way, sir."  
  
"Up there!"  
  
Kennedy began to crawl in the direction she had come, to room 523. As she only got a few yards away from the opening, the noises stopped. Meaning they evacuated the room and were now searching for her elsewhere, she just hoped it would take them awhile to figure out which direction she had gone. As Kennedy continued to crawl, she passed several other gated vents to other rooms, she knew she had at least ten more to go before she reached 523. She also saw several droplets of blood fall, undoubtedly from her wound.  
  
This is it, she thought, were going to be one step closer to completing the impossible. Then she might actually have reason to be happy, to smile again. So what if she wouldn't be the Slayer anymore? Kennedy would gladly give up her powers to have them back, it was just a horrid reminder anyway.  
  
Room 523, Kennedy had reached the vent to her destination room. She gently pushed on the grate, trying to stay as quiet as possible. It didn't take much effort to knock the cover off, it fell to the ground with a loud echoed CLANK. Kennedy froze, unsure if the noise had gained any unwanted attention, keeping her eyes focused on the door below. After several seconds passed, Kennedy was finally satisfied she was still unheard. She swung her legs over first, then dropped herself several feet until she landed on the ground as quietly as she could.  
  
"Alright," Kennedy began, "I'm in 523, where do I go from here?"  
  
"It should be there, it should be right there," Mikah replied with a sense of hopefulness.  
  
Kennedy searched the room, there were several metal racks against the wall. Each held little knick-knacks and leftover debris from the wars. She ran her hand over a rectangular plate covered with dust, it read "Flanders." Belonging to someone's house, no doubt, her mind flooded with memories from Doomsday. That was the single night where vampires and demons overtook the world with the help of the First, leaving no prisoners. The few lucky ones who survived were now forced to live in shacks or tunnels, hiding themselves from the creatures that now roamed freely.  
  
"I'm not see-" Kennedy cut herself off, her eyes rested on a small metal box in particular, "wait a minute."  
  
She carefully picked it up and used her hand to clear off the dust from the top, Kennedy saw vampyric writing engraved deep within it. This was it, the pact. One part of the puzzle that would allow her to bring her friends back, and Mikah's family, the thing that would change the world.  
  
"I've got it," Kennedy stated with a smile on her face. 


	6. pt6

May 12th, 2003  
Kennedy sat on the couch, Willow cradled her head in Kennedy's lap, and covered herself beneath a blanket with a book held at eyelevel.  
  
Most of the potentials had already passed out hours ago in their sleeping bags. Some rested on the floor and some found other places, like the kitchen table.  
  
Anya sat with Xander at the dining room table and Dawn sat in the living room across from Kennedy in the arm chair with a book in her lap.  
  
Last, but not least: Buffy, Spike and Faith had accompanied Giles on a nightly patrol, and with it nearing two in the morning, they were expected back any minute.  
  
The First was ready for the showdown, but the gang still needed to clock many more hours of research before they could find out how to destroy it, or even just to survive.  
  
"This is so frustrating," Dawn huffed, "All these months, and we're still no closer than when Giles and Anya talked to that icy eye thing."  
  
Willow smiled, still keeping her eyes glued to her book, "Think of it this way Dawnie, with all this research we've managed to memorize a hundred and twenty species of demon.in alphabetical order too."  
  
Dawn sighed and slumped even further in her chair.  
  
Their confidence had been shaken many a time in the last few months, but nothing struck harder than Chloe's suicide almost seven weeks ago. Even Molly's death, she died in battle, still in fear of her life. But Chloe, it was like there was a realization that giving up was an option, and that weakened their army.  
  
Buffy and Dawn were the first to discover the body, but Kennedy remembered seeing her hanging from the ceiling, then the commotion. Everyone was talking at once, the First Evil had it's words with them. After Buffy cut the rope, Kennedy helped support the body to keep it falling to the floor, she remembered how cold Chloe's hands felt. It was almost as if Kennedy could feel her life abandoning her body before her.  
  
Since that day, no matter how many times Kennedy showered or washed her hands, she never felt truly clean. There were days when she'd crush her teeth and stare at herself in the mirror, wondering what was going through Chloe's mind to drive her to her fate, and wondered if she was doomed to the same.  
  
Kennedy cleared her mind, it was too overwhelming to ponder now, instead, she decided to concentrate on the present, and in the present, she had Willow lying in her lap and her friends surrounding her in a comfort zone.  
  
"Maybe if we can find a way to bury it again, in one of those caves Buffy first saw it in," Willow suggested.  
  
Dawn nodded, "But then we'd have to know how to keep it there. Y'know, like that Olaf troll, trap it in a crystal.then of course we'd have to kill every last one of those eyeless freaks to keep hem from digging it back up- "  
  
"Okay," willow interrupted, "I think I get the point," she commented with a corner smile.  
  
Dawn shrugged, "Just looking at the loopholes, wonder if Xander or Anya found anything."  
  
Willow began, lowering her book, "Why don't you go check?"  
  
Dawn nodded, then elevated from her chair, within a few seconds she disappeared into the dining room.  
  
Willow reached over and placed her book on the table, then wrapped an arm under Kennedy's leg and snuggled her head closer, "Finally, have you all to myself."  
  
Kennedy raised an eyebrow as she began to gently stroke Willow's red hair, "Of course. Cause you know Dawn, brutal competition. Always had a thing for sixteen year olds," she concluded with a seductive smile.  
  
Willow playfully rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue, then the more she thought the more solemn she became, "I.I just can't believe we're at another apocaly0pe already. It seems just like last week we had to save the world from. well, me."  
  
Kennedy nodded slowly, staring off into the distance, "It kind of makes you wonder when he end's really going to come."  
  
Willow tightened her lips, "We did have one possible solution, but we figured it wouldn't work."  
  
Kennedy lowered her brows in confusion, "What solution?" she asked, "I don't understand."  
  
Willow lifted her head off of her lap to sit up, "In one of Giles' old books, we read something about 'Lolbue's Pacts,' some kind of ancient time travel device." she shook her head in defeat, "but the pacts can only be used once, to fix a single mistake. And since we don't know what we could've done differently, it'd all be for nothing."  
  
Kennedy bit her lower lip, "So those pacts ACTUALLY start time travel?"  
  
Willow nodded, "There's supposed to be three, you put 'em together and WAM! Instant portal. But last we heard, the Initiative had the pacts, but when they were disbanded by the government, I guess they were lost."  
  
Kennedy blandly shrugged a shoulder, "That shouldn't surprise me, time travel, vampires, the bogeyman, evil shadow puppets, all we need now are aliens."  
  
Willow lifted a brow, "I DID tell you about the parasite on the meteor that liked to eat crazy people, right?" She laughed, which only provoked Kennedy to chuckle, then Willow lay back down in her lap and interlaced her fingers with Kennedy's.  
  
She slightly leaned forward to stare into Willow's eyes, what she found was the love and kindness that she fell head over heels for. Willow stared back with a smile on her face, almost blushing, knowing that Kennedy had been succumbed by something in Willow. She still couldn't understand what she saw in her, but Willow would take it any way she could get it. She lifted her head to meet Kennedy's lips then rested her head back down to her cozy Kennedy pillow.  
  
It may have only been a short kiss, but Kennedy felt her heard skip a beat. There she sat with her lover, feeling as if the world couldn't get any more perfect. So what if they were staring down the barrel of an apocalypse? It didn't matter. She managed to fall madly in love with this girl in a matter of five months, even if they ended up in a firey hell, she'd be okay. Because tonight, she was with the ones she loved.  
  
But Kennedy couldn't push the Lolbue's Pacts out of her mind. What mistake could be so huge, that someone would be willing to jump time? She could only imagine. 


End file.
